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The construction industry must take responsibility for the disproportionately high number of cyclists killed by its lorries, according to a report.

Of 16 cyclists who died in London in 2011, seven were killed by construction lorries, even though HGVs account for only 5 per cent of traffic on the roads.

The report, commissioned by Transport for London (TfL), found that the industry displayed a “lack of ownership of road risk” and could have “a large impact on cyclist safety” by taking safety on the roads as seriously as on-site safety.

Delivery slots at sites should be less rigid and more “realistic” to deter drivers from rushing, and lorries should be refused entry to construction sites if they are not fitted with the full range of mirrors, safety bars and sensors to improve visibility, said Peter Hendy, the TfL Commissioner.

Mr Hendy told The Times: “We want the Health and Safety Executive to take more interest in construction-related safety off-site. We want vehicle manufacturers to look again at better visibility in the vehicles they manufacture, and for contractors running sites and sub-contractors who run tippers and skip lorries to look at the way in which they do their business.”

Mr Hendy said that “100 per cent” of lorries working on the Crossrail project complied with safety demands when contractors started turning away companies whose lorries were not fitted with full safety features. He said that he had written to local councils asking them to impose the same strict rules.

He added that while crashes were always “traumatic”, from a financial perspective incidents that kill or injure someone could cost construction companies “a bloody fortune” in compensation and insurance.

The first point of the Times Cities Fit for Cycling campaign manifesto calls for all lorries to be fitted with extra safety measures to protect cyclists and pedestrians. The campaign was sparked by the critical injuries suffered by the Times reporter Mary Bowers, who was run over by a tipper truck driver, Petre Beiu, as he delivered construction material.

The report recommends changes to windscreen and dashboard design, larger side windows, improved mirrors and the use of “new technologies” to detect nearby cyclists.

While pressure continues for better road design, the report makes clear that individual construction companies must still take responsibility for helping to prevent death and injury on the roads.

Sir Chris Hoy has called on the major parties to make “ambitious” pledges to
boost cycling in their manifestos, saying it would be a “dream scenario” if
the streets were safe enough for his infant son to cycle to school with his
Olympian father when he is older